Fire and Light
by XxDe-JixX
Summary: A fangirl story about an artist and, well, one of his fans :D.
1. Chapter 1

WARNING: Fangirlism alert!!! :D Okay, enjoy! (also, I know that there aren't any tabs... For some reason they won't work =.=)

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Garth packed the last of his clothing that he would need on his trip. He was going camping, and picking up a friend of his. He patted the passport in his pocket. She had been right that they were expensive, but he didn't think it was too bad. He looked around his house one more time. It still felt empty. He sighed and locked the door, then headed out to his car.

Garth put his suitcase in the trunk, along with the sweets that he was bringing for the trip. Then he got in and shut the door, and turned the ignition. The engine roared to a start, then quieted a little to a comforting hum. He shifted to reverse and backed out into the street, starting the long journey with the map in the passenger's seat, there to help him if he lost his way. He

In America, specifically a little town called Ketoporoa, sat a girl in front of her computer screen, smiling at her inbox on Deviantart. She had gotten a message saying that he was taking her with him. She didn't dare to believe it though. It was too fantastic. While it was a marvelous idea, the actual effort was too romantic to ever come true. She replied, chuckling and going along with the joke, and waited for his reply while she went about her normal life.

Garth came at last to the border after a six hour drive. He loved to travel; he just did not love the side effects, such as the time differences and the fatigue. Luckily he wasn't traveling to a different time zone, but driving without much rest for hours on end was tiring. He rested while he waited his turn in line to let the guards look at his passport and let him through to the other side. He pulled the little booklet out of his pocket and looked at it, wondering how such a small thing could cause so much strife only because it was missing. He dismissed the thoughts and started looking around at the landscape and cars around him. The grass looked soft, and with his window rolled down, a slight breeze teased him. His legs ached to take a walk. Unfortunately he could not leave his car. It would simply be foolish. He sighed and inched closer, and started trying to imagine how she would look. She had described herself a little bit, but it still wasn't very much to go by. His artist's imagination was bored.

Finally he got to the little box that sheltered the guard from the weather, and handed him his passport. The guard requested some money, which Garth gave to him. It wasn't very much, and it would get him through. That was the main thing. He drove on and on, wondering at how the landscape changed. It went from his flat hometown, to mountainous and woodsy, then flat again, then started going up in little hills, sagebrush growing everywhere. He watched the landscape, watching the light brighten and fade when the landscape stayed the same for a long while.

It was almost dark when he came to a sign that read, 'Ketoporoa, next exit'. He had almost missed it in the red and golden light that was clinging to the sky. He took the turn, and looked at a little note he had written again. It had her address, and directions from Google Map on how to get there. She had posted her information on Yahoo! Messenger. He had been bored on a slow day at Devinatart, which was rare, and had downloaded the messenger and had been looking around at all the new features that it had. He had seen her information, and had written down most of it. Sometimes she was too honest for her own good. He took the turns that he was quite sure was right, and eventually came to a quite large house at the end of the block. It was the only one with the lights off. Did he come to the wrong one, or was her family just that antisocial? She had said that they were antisocial, but he hadn't thought to that extent. He parked his car by a Chrysler Concorde that was parked in the driveway, tilted on the slight hill. She had said that she drove a Concorde. This must be it.

He walked up to the door and rang the bell. A dog inside barked. He looked through the uncolored stained glass window. A small white dog that he recognized from a picture was running around, barks reverberating through the house. A big man came to the door, unlocked it and stared at him, confused. He wasn't fat, but he was taller than Garth himself, and muscled.

"Who are you?" The man asked, confused. Garth answered smoothly, expecting the question, and gave him his name and asked if the girl he was looking for lived there. The man stared at him suspiciously, then looked him up and down. "Come in," was the answer, then he yelled the girl's name down the stairs.

"Are you a friend of hers?" The man asked her. Garth assumed it was her father. He confirmed her father's theory. The taller man nodded and glanced at the stairs, of which a girl was peeking around the bend in the wall to where the stairs turned. She had blue eyes and curly hair.

"Yeah?" She asked, then noticed Garth. She blinked and stared at him carefully, as though she didn't know him but recognized him somehow. Which made sense, when he thought about it.

"It's one of your friends, or that's what he says," Her dad answered, seeing her confused face. She looked at her dad, then back to Garth. Before she asked something unwise that might set the big man against him, Garth said,

"I've come to pick you up." She blinked and tilted her head, the curls falling off of her shoulder and down. Her hair really was down as far as she had said it was. She mouthed what he had said, then her eyes widened, then she was wearing a straight face again. Garth started to doubt if he had seen the change in her face.

"Okay Dad, thanks," She said, then grabbed Garth by the shoulder and started spouting about something random that was obviously a cover-up. Her father nodded and told her to tell Sarah to come upstairs. The girl paused and 'okay'ed, then resumed her blabber. Once they got out of hearing range, the girl turned on him and asked tentatively,

"Ga.. Garth?" She said, eyeing him up and down. He looked the right height and his eyes were blue. So so blue. She felt herself falling into them before he answered,

"Hai," Which awoke her. She stared up at him. His features were handsome, like a prince out of a fairy tale or dream. Maybe not quite like she had imagined, but close.

"What are you doing here?" She asked without thinking. Then remembered his last message, and that she hadn't gotten a reply yet. Her mouth dropped. "You weren't serious about picking me up, were you?" She asked, making it sound almost ridiculously wonderful. He raised his eyebrow. She had thought he was joking? He answered with another 'yes'. The girl got the look of wonderously ridiculous again and the next thing he knew was that her arms were around him and she was making a strange.. Purring noise, he guessed he could describe it. Or maybe a cooing. He hugged her back, then she pulled back and ran into a room. He heard an excited voice say who was outside, then a "NO WAY!!!" Then a blonde-headed girl peeked out of the room. That must have been Suta-chan. She peeked her head back inside the room, and he heard,

"Is that really him?!" Then a confirmation and then the girl came running back outside the room and pulled him inside, then was pushed back outside. These girls were almost as crazy in real life as on the internet! Suta and the girl started fighting about whether he could come into the room or not. Apparently it was Suta's room. The girl with curly brown hair came back outside the room and then her mouth dropped.

"I haven't packed!" Then ran into a room that was farther down the hall. He heard her rustling around inside. She had shut the door out of habit. He knocked softly. "Oh! Come in!" She said, and he opened the door and the girl was cramming clothes into a suitcase.

"How long are we going to be gone?" She asked, stuffing the small bag. Garth chuckled to himself. Shouldn't she have known that before starting to pack? Oh well.

"Pack for a week," He said. Even if they got bored of camping before it was over, he still wanted her with him for some of the rest of his vacation. She beamed at him, then rushed to stuff the bag. After a few minutes of cramming, she started pulling everything out. "What are you doing?" He asked, confused.

"The bag's not big enough. Sorry about this," She said, then rushed out and into the hall to grab a bigger suitcase. She got a big red one, then started folding her clothes and putting them in the best way that they would fit. He tried not to watch. She had to pack her… Delicates… As well as everything else. She rushed about the house, grabbing everything that she would need, along with a new sketchbook and a mechanical pencil. That made him smile. A couple of his own were in his car. She looked through her suitcase a couple of more times, double-checking that she had everything that she needed, then glanced at her watch. "Twenty minutes," She complained to herself. She had taken longer than she had wanted to.

"It's fine. I was thinking that we could head out tomorrow. It's a long drive and it's dark now," Garth told her. She nodded. She hadn't really noticed when he had flipped on her light switch.

"Where are you going to stay?" She asked. He blinked. He was thinking of staying in a hotel, but if they were willing to lend him a room for the night, that would be just fine.

"Do you have a spare room?" He asked. He hadn't really gotten a good look at the house yet. Of what he had seen, it was very nice though. High standard-like. The girl wasn't so much into it, but he thought it was nice.

"We do and we don't," She said. He gave her a confused look, then she continued with, "Well the one that is supposed to be our spare-room is 'under construction' but we do have a bed in the theater room that you might be able to stay in," She said. He nodded. That made more sense. "Let's go ask my dad if you can stay, okay?" She said, then started out the door and upstairs. She looked in a room, then headed down another short hallway and knocked on the door at the end of it. Garth followed.

"Yes?" A muffled voice asked from inside the room over the dog's barking.

"Can my friend stay the night in the theater room? He's not from around here, and he needs a place to stay," She said, being just vague enough to get by. A muffled, 'okay' came from inside, then the volume of the TV was turned up. The girl twirled around and asked,

"Did you hear that?!" Then rushed to his side and hugged him again. Garth nodded, a little relieved. He hadn't wanted to spend money on a hotel. They cost a lot of money just to sleep in a bed for a few hours. The girl grabbed him by the arm and led him around, giving him a tour of the house. It wasn't as big as it looked from the outside. She saved the theater room, or his temporary bedroom, for last. She showed him inside. There was a big screen TV and a bed which had been folded out of a couch with rumpled sheets on it inside the room, along with shelves of movies stacked against the wall. The girl sighed and took the sheets off of the bed, then went upstairs and put the sheets in a room quickly, then went across the house to a closet and pulled out some fresh sheets. She apologized for the inconvenience, and he forgave her, which made her smile softly. The smile lit up her face, making her face look a little more round and pleasant than it already did.

She shifted the sheets in her arms, then headed downstairs. Garth caught up to her and started helping her make the bed.

"Oh, Garth," She said, touched. It showed in her voice. "You don't have to do that," She said, pausing.

"It's okay, I don't mind," Garth said softly. They looked at each other for a moment or two, still amazed that they were actually together in person. The girl blushed a little, then went back to her work. Garth went back to his work as well, working up the courage to say something.

"De-Ji, thanks for letting me stay the night," He said. It was only partly to thank her. He had mostly wanted to try saying her name to her. She waved her hand from side to side in a manner that was humble.

"It was really nothing. And if you want, you can call me Deej if you want. It's actually my nickname that everybody likes to call me," She said. Garth nodded, making a mental note for later. They both went back to work, and had soon finished making the make-shift bed. After they were done, they sat on the bed and sat in silence for a little bit. Deej looked at Garth and blushed a couple of times, but said nothing.

Eventually Deej got up and started going through the movies that were on the shelves. She eventually picked one out and asked Garth if he had seen it. He hadn't, and said so. She asked if he wanted to watch and he nodded, so Deej put the DVD in the player and sat down by Garth and watched it with him. When it got to the end, they said good night to each other, in Japanese just like they did whenever they talked. Deej reluctantly left and went into her room to get some rest before the big traveling day.

Garth realized that he hadn't brought in his suitcase, and therefore didn't have any pajamas. He just shrugged and took off his shirt and got into the bed, and couldn't help but hear through the thin walls what Deej was doing. She was humming tunelessly. He was glad that he could make her so happy. Eventually he heard the light switch click off, and they both fell to sleep.

In the morning, Deej's alarm went off. She got up to switch it off. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and tried to think. Her eyes shot open, tiredness forgotten. She contained her laughter and rushed around, taking a few things out of her suitcase and headed toward the bathroom for a shower. She hurried slightly, but took the time to make herself seem more attractive. She finished and went back into her room and dressed. She chose one of her black shirts and a ripped pair of jeans, since they were going camping. The black shirt was thin but had a hood on the back of it, and pink numbers like a jersey and the cotton-like material clung to her still-moist skin, the manufactured rip in the front widened a little from use. The jeans were of a medium thickness and tightness, just enough to look good but not tight enough to look like she was showing off; they had a whole in the right knee from being worn so much and played in since they were her favorite jeans. They were also torn a little at the bottom of the legs where she had stepped on them because they were so long, but she liked their length. She put on her black hiking boots, that also had a couple of holes in them from frequent use, and giggled to herself and checked the time. It was 7:30 in the morning. She figured that she would give Garth more time to rest and wake him up in an hour, if he wasn't already up by then and sketch while she was waiting. So she sat in her rocking chair and started putting lines on a page, without a preplanned idea.

Garth woke up in the dark, except for a sliver of sunlight. He panicked for a second, not remembering where he was. He stumbled in the dark until he found the door. He opened it, letting the light pour inside, lighting the room as well as his memory. He sighed and found the light switch, turned on the lights and shut the door. He put on his shirt and headed to his car and grabbed his suitcase, and knocked on.. Deej's… Door. He had to remind himself of her nickname. He heard a clatter and pitter-patter of shoes on linoleum, then the lock turning and the door opened, Deej smiling brightly.

"Ohayo gozaimasu!" She greeted him. He smoothed his hair a little, and asked if he could use a bathroom to take a shower in. "Of course! There's one right by Suta's room, did you forget?" She asked. Garth looked over at it and sighed. He had forgotten.

"I must not be awake yet," He said, chuckling, then thanked her and headed toward the door. He went into the bathroom and took care of business, moving a little slowly due to the foreign placement of soap and shampoo and the like. He didn't take too much time, and quickly dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, then packed his things then went to Deej's room and knocked on her door softly so that the door wouldn't bang open and expose her in case she was busy with anything. He heard similar noises again and the door opened.

"Ready to go?" He asked, then shook his head a little to get some of the water out. It splashed onto Deej. "Oh, I'm sorry," He said when she put her hand over her heart.

"Don't be, and yes," She breathed. He looked closer and there was light dancing in her eyes. He sighed inwardly. It was still a little weird to be admired so much by anyone. She ran inside and grabbed her suitcase and her sketchbook then stood in the doorway, waiting for him to lead her to the car. He turned and walked to his car, carrying his own suitcase. He unlocked the doors and opened the trunk, and put his bag in the back. Deej put her bag beside his and walked around his Chrysler making appreciative noises like 'ooh!'. Garth chuckled a little and got into the driver's seat after closing the trunk. Deej got in and settled a few things that she was bringing up front into the space around her. He made sure she was comfortable, then set off on their journey. Garth glanced at the clock. It was 8:30 a.m. So far they were making good time.

Later in the day, Deej was slumped in her seat, her eyelids were drifting downward. Garth kept glancing from her to the road. He was a little tired himself, but he couldn't sleep. He was driving.

"You know Deej, You can sleep. I'm not going to kill you in your sleep," He said. She chuckled and scooted up in the seat a little.

"Or are you?" She asked jokingly. He laughed a little, turning it into an evil laughter mockery. She gave him a funny look and patted him on the shoulder, then settled her head on the bottom corner of the window and yawned and closed her eyes. Soon her breathing slowed and her chest rose and fell softly. Garth grinned ever so slightly, then went back to watching the road.

There wasn't very much anything interesting on the road, and Garth was tired, but he endured. They weren't kidding about the road being hypnotizing in driver's ed. Just line after line after line. It got monotonous enough to make him yawn after a while, and look over at Deej, of whom he was a little jealous at the time. She looked so peaceful, napping there in his seat. She shifted slightly and murmured, then went back to her dream, probably of him. He went back to looking at the road.

Eventually, they came back to the Canadian border. Garth stopped behind the car ahead of him in line, then shook Deej softly. She woke up with a small jerk, then looked around and rubbed her eyes.

"Where are we?" She asked, and looked around, her eyes brightening when she saw the trees.

"The Canadian border. You brought your passport, didn't you?" He asked. She nodded and shifted some of her stuff around while responding.

"That's a little late for that question, isn't it?" She asked him back, teasing. She started rummaging faster. He heard a hiss of her taking in a worried breath.

"Something wrong?" Garth asked, started worrying. She hadn't given him a straight answer, but her tone had suggested that she had it…

"AHA! FOUND IT!" She said, then pulled out a little blue booklet that had 'Passport' printed on it, and handed it to him. He gave her a look and took the tiny book, and put it in the door's pocket with his own. Deej looked around again. "It sure is pretty up here," She said, awe in her voice. Garth nodded.

As they inched ever closer to his country they started a conversation that was interesting but didn't really have a point other than to entertain. They both enjoyed it and continued it for longer than they both expected. It continued until in due course it ended. They sat in silence for a while until Deej started reading her book. Garth started paying attention to the road again, taking the right turn-offs so that he would be able to make it to the camp-site in time. He checked the clock. They were making good time. He had thought that getting into Canada would have taken longer than that. But it was okay, because if he was early getting to camp, he would still be the last one there because he had gone to pick up Deej, which he did not, nor would not, regret.

At last, they got to the campsite just before sunset. Garth told Deej to stay in the car for a little bit until he came for her. She nodded, and watched him get out and greet his family. After a little of the catching up was done, he told them that he had a surprise. He walked back to his car, followed by his curious family. Garth opened the door, "accidentally" blocking his family's view of what was in the car. Deej stepped out of the car and waved shyly at them. Their jaws dropped.

"So she's why you're so late?" One of Garth's brothers asked. Garth nodded. Deej smiled a little bit, but the fact that she was nervous was obvious.

"Sorry, but I didn't even know he was coming for me," She said. They looked at her kind of funny, until she explained the rest of it. They nodded and rolled their eyes. They started asking Deej questions, and Deej answered as best as she could while Garth unpacked the car and set everything up.

"So where is she going to sleep?" One of Garth's brothers asked. Garth smirked. He knew they would ask that.

"I'm going to sleep on the end, and she's going to sleep by me so that she doesn't have to be by any of you guys," He said, half-teasing them. They took it well and laughed, and everybody helped to set up the campsite to everybody's liking, just as the sun had starting setting. Deej hung around Garth, following him like a puppy when she was finished with her responsibilities with the camp. When Garth was done, they watched the sunset together, and Deej grabbed onto his arm and sighed contentedly.

…

In Ketoporoa, The Grice family was listening to the radio, not really paying attention until a warning interrupted the broadcast.

"Warning, a convict escaped today. He was charged with attempted manslaughter and arrested. He is believed to be armed and very dangerous. His name is Brent Busto. He is six-foot-three, heavy-set with short blonde hair and with a large scar from a burn on his left cheek. Be on the lookout for him and alert authorities if you happen to see him. Now back to your broadcast," The announcer said, then the music resumed. The Grice family looked at each other and whistled lowly, then continued with their activities.


	2. Chapter 2

"Warning, a convict escaped today. He was charged with attempted manslaughter and arrested. He is believed to be armed and very dangerous. His name is Brent Busto. He is six-foot-three, heavy-set with short blonde hair and with a large scar from a burn on his left cheek. Be on the lookout for him and alert authorities if you happen to see him. Now back to your broadcast," The announcer said, then the music resumed. The Grice family looked at each other and whistled lowly, then continued with their activities.

…

Brent grimaced as the radio's announcement stopped. He placed a hand over his burned cheek and cursed to himself. Now he couldn't hide anywhere. He accelerated the stolen car he was in, heading north. He wasn't quite sure where he was, but he knew it was close to the border of Canada, and he couldn't stay in the States any longer.

Brent stopped when he came to the ever-lasting line to get into Canada. He would never be able to make it in. He put the car in park and slipped off toward the right, hiding in the foliage and behind rocks until he got out of sight range. He then started sprinting, going off to the right until he was sure that nobody was nearby. He stopped running and stumbled from exhaustion, breathing heavily, his side aching from the stitch in it. After what felt like an eternity, his breathing slowed and the twinge in his side faded away. He sat up and looked at the sun's position in the sky. It in the afternoon, he could tell that much. He was facing west. He turned North, and started jogging through the underbrush and trees, not knowing what else to do.

Night fell, and Brent stopped jogging again. There wasn't any point in continuing because he couldn't see. He stopped for the night, his stomach complaining at the lack of food. He saw some berries, but didn't dare eat any. He had heard stories of people who had eaten food that they didn't know what it was, and had had horrible reactions to it, besides the fact that many berries were poisonous and he had no way of knowing what was and was not. He glared at the berries and lay down on the hard ground and fell into a light sleep, keeping his ears tuned in case of bears or other wildlife that could harm him.

…

In the camp, Deej and Garth sat around the campfire, happily roasting their marshmallows, laughing knowingly whenever anybody accidentally lit theirs on fire or dropped it. As Garth had said they would be; his family was grateful that he had brought the s'mores ingredients. They all made their s'mores and laughed and ate them, licking the last sticky parts off of their fingers. They stared into the fire and in time the laughter died, leaving the ring of people around the fire in a comfortable silence. Garth yawned. Deej shifted closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder and stared into the fire again, trying to stay awake. She was tired despite having slept in the car all day. Garth yawned again, making her yawn. Somebody, Deej wasn't sure who, suggested that they all go to bed. Nobody disagreed. Garth got up, and practically dragged Deej to bed. They all got settled and fell asleep.

Garth woke up sometime in the night because of a movement to his side. He looked over in the dark at Deej, and saw that she was shivering. He tried waking her up like he had done in the car. It didn't work. She was too deep in her sleep. He unzipped her sleeping bag and pulled her out and put her in his sleeping bag, and zipped his bag back up. Sensing the warmth, she smiled in her sleep and moved herself closer to him and put her arms around him. He sighed and went back to sleep thinking, 'I should have seen that one coming…'.

The next morning, Garth woke up to his family talking in disgusted-sounding voices. He opened his eyes and looked to his right. His family was getting out of their sleeping bags and pointing at him. His ears tuned into what they were saying.

"Couldn't that have been done somewhere else? Come on man, that's just wrong!" And the like were being said. He looked at them, confused, until one of them pointed to his chest. He looked down and saw Deej on top of him, still smiling and murmuring in her sleep. He shifted her off of him gently and started protesting.

"We didn't do anything! She was shivering! I had to warm her up somehow! She moved in her sleep! You guys are sick…" Garth said. His family just laughed and continued teasing him. Garth got out of his sleeping bag and dressed, trying to defend himself and Deej. By the end of it, they had all, but Garth of course, decided that she was his fiancée. He sighed and decided to ignore them and headed outside to help start the fire and cook breakfast.

Deej was the last one awake. She got up and pushed her messy curls out of her face and looked around. She looked over at her sleeping bag. Her sleeping bag? She looked at the one she was in and recognized it as Garth's. Her eyes widened. Did she do something she didn't remember? Her imagination came up with some crazy things as she got dressed and put on a baseball cap and put her hair through the little hole in the back of it. She stepped out of the tent and put on her shoes and went over to Garth. How should she word this?

"Um, Garth?" She started. He glanced at her and asked her what she needed. "Why was I in your sleeping bag last night?" She asked. He sighed and looked over at his brothers, which were still laughing about it.

"You were cold and shivering. I put you in my bag to keep you warm, that's it. Don't let them make you think any different, either," He said, pointing to his siblings.

"aww!" Deej said, then hugged him and looked over at Garth's siblings. "They're really having fun with something…" She said. Garth explained it. "Oh…" Deej trailed off. She grabbed a piece of food and munched on it, watching his relatives having fun.

"Hey! Wanna go exploring?" Deej asked. She didn't want to go alone, and she knew that Garth liked to explore as well as herself. It all worked out.

"Yeah, just let me finish up here," Garth told her. She nodded and chewed slowly, looking around, trying to see which way would be the most interesting to explore while Garth worked on the rest of breakfast.

He was soon finished and set out the food, covering it so that it wasn't set out for the bugs, and grabbed a couple of things for himself, then started following Deej, who had started wandering in the direction that she wanted to explore in. They both ignored the whoops and teasing about them leaving just by themselves. Garth made a mental note so they wouldn't get lost. They were heading south.

…

Brent woke up after he had had enough rest. He stretched out the kinks in his legs and his sore back. He got up and starting jogging again, this time trying to think of what he could do next. He couldn't hold a captive or anything, it wouldn't be very productive, and there wasn't anybody out here. And if they were, they would have to be hermits.

He kept jogging and jogging for the whole day, not even pausing to eat. He couldn't, really. He needed to find something to eat, and soon. Even though he had a little extra fat stored away. He would lose it pretty fast. He did pause to rest, however, because he did need to rest his aching side and legs when the pain got to a point where he couldn't bear it any more. After he was rested, he always made sure that he was traveling north. He couldn't say why he had to keep going north, it was just a gut feeling he had.

Eventually he got tired enough that he had to start resting longer and longer. He even was starting to miss the meals in his jail cell, and the bed. The ground was always cold. He cursed it and its bugs. They seemed to be everywhere. And no matter how much he smacked at them, he could never be rid of them. When he got to be resting longer than he was running, he stopped and rested for the night, even though the sun was still up. He lay on the ground and complained to himself about everything that had gone wrong with his life.

…

Garth and Deej returned around noon for lunch, then headed out again to explore a few trails that they had seen, even though they couldn't go much farther than they had in the morning. The next day they were planning to just walk straight on a little deer trail that they had found. They were going to follow it for most of the day. They were both excited for it. They grabbed a couple of things to munch on, and headed out again. They returned at dinner time and ate and talked together for a while, letting the rest of his family do what they wanted. They had eventually grown tired of teasing the two and were eating and talking amongst themselves.

The night progressed much as the first. They sat around the campfire talking, but this time sipping hot chocolate. It even ended similar. Garth's sister started yawning and everybody went to bed because they were all tired. So they headed in and got settled, except for Deej. She sat atop her sleeping bag, nervously twiddling her fingers. Garth recognized her discomfort.

"What's wrong?" Garth asked her. She turned to face him and looked from him to his sleeping bag to hers, then back to him.

"Can I sleep with you again tonight? I don't want to be so cold again. I think it registered with me in my dreams, but not enough to wake me up…" She said, then stopped. She was starting to ramble. She tended to do that sometimes when she was uneasy. Garth looked over at his family, who were all paying attention. He glared at them and then turned back to Deej, who had looked at them as well.

"Yeah, go ahead," He said, bracing himself for more teasing. There were a few chuckles, but that was it. They must have run out of jokes. Deej grinned widely and slid herself into his bag beside him and wished him a good night. He repeated the wish, and fell to sleep quickly. Deej took a little longer to fall asleep. She relished the warmth and firmness of his body next to hers. It was a simple thing, but it made her happier than words can convey; at least until the call of sleep was too tempting to resist any longer.

…

Brent woke up in the middle of the night, unable to sleep on the rocky ground. Since he was awake, he figured he should start jogging again. The sooner he found food, the better. He placed a hand over his stomach as once again it reminded him that it was empty. He grumbled back at it, then started off.

It was hard to see in the dark, so occasionally he would trip in little dips in the ground or rocks. The stars he could see just fine. He was finally glad that he had taken astronomy in high school. He was following the north star. He just had to keep going, just a little farther. He kept telling himself and telling himself. He knew he wouldn't last much longer. He needed water as well. Just a little farther…


	3. Chapter 3

Deej woke up first this time, but didn't want to get up yet. She wanted to stay like she was as long as possible. She had woken up with Garth's arm in hers. She stared at it. She could see his veins sticking out a little because of his muscles. She couldn't resist. She started lightly tracing the veins and muscles, studying the anatomy of his arm with the tips of her fingers. She grew bored after the fifth time of tracing it over, and rested her head on under his collarbone and slowly drifted back into a warm dream filled with happy colors that didn't have to make sense. She was in paradise…

This ended when Garth woke up and started trying to push her head off. She woke up and got off of him, while he got up and got dressed while Deej pouted a tiny bit about paradise leaving. She closed her eyes until he told her that he was done.

"I'm done," Garth said. Deej opened her eyes and smiled up at him. She thought she should try it anyway, even though she doubted that it would work.

"Wanna come back in?" She asked, gesturing into the sleeping bag. Garth shook his head, and Deej mockingly snapped her fingers. "Darn," She joked.

"Hurry up, don't you want to go exploring?" He asked, then headed outside so she could get changed out of her sweatpants and t-shirt that she used for pajamas. She almost slipped getting out of the sleeping bag, and got her clothes and went back in the sleeping bag to change inside it in case somebody woke up while she was changing. When she was done, she grabbed her hat and hurried outside and grabbed some breakfast, then started pulling on Garth's arm lightly.

"Come on, let's go, you were all ready a second ago!" Deej said impatiently. Garth was still chewing on his breakfast and packing their lunch.

"Be patient, we need our lunch," He said. Immediately Deej started helping. She grabbed whatever sounded good and put them in the little backpack that Garth was packing. Garth put in a couple of bottles of Fuze as well, then closed it up and put it on his back. Then they set off in the same direction. Deej was practically jumping up and down, and Garth was grinning from ear to ear.

"RACE YA!" Garth yelled, then started sprinting off. Deej stared after him with her jaw down for a second, then started off after him.

"You cheater! You and your long legs!" She yelled, failing to catch up, much less beat him. He slowed down and let Deej catch up to him, then they both slowed to a stop, and practically fell over themselves because they were laughing so hard. When they had stopped laughing enough to catch their breaths, they set off again on their walk.

Brent lay panting in the dirt, again, when he heard laughing and footsteps. He paused his breathing, though his lungs screamed for air. He ran behind a bush to see who was coming. It was a girl with a guy. The guy would give him trouble; he could tell by the way he walked. He had some kind of fighting skills. He would have to grab the girl and use her as a hostage. The guy was wearing a backpack. It might have some food or even water in it. He swallowed dryly and watched them. The girl was falling behind, then sprinting ahead to the front, and then to the back again, trying to egg something on from the man. Sounded like another race. Brent waited patiently, oh so patiently, until they had passed him, then he followed them silently, not stepping on a single twig. He waited for the girl to come behind again. She was stopping and waiting for him to pass her, her eyes always on him. Maybe they were lovers. 'How sweet', he thought to himself sarcastically. She was just a little ways away, just a little closer, closer…

Deej's scream interrupted the sound of the birds and woodsy sounds as she was grabbed from behind and held with her arms behind her so that she couldn't fight back. She struggled anyway, even kicked wherever she could land her feet. Unfortunately it didn't affect him.

Garth spun around when he heard her scream, and saw her captured and struggling. He didn't know what he could do. His karate couldn't help if he was going to use Deej against him. He tried to keep his mind calm. Panicking couldn't help them. His hands balled into fists of frustration.

"What do you want?!" He asked angrily. The man tried putting his hand over Deej's mouth so that she wouldn't scream again. She bit him, hard. He cursed at her and smacked her across the back of the head. She whimpered, but didn't scream. She turned her head to glare at him. He was looking at Garth.

"What do you have in the bag?" He asked, pushing Deej forward so that he could advance on Garth. Garth took the bag off of his back and opened it so that the man could see what was in it. Deej glared at him and winced when drool started coming out of the corners of his mouth and dripped down everywhere, including her. The man grabbed a green branch and tied it tightly around her wrists so that she couldn't get away, then grabbed a rock and forced Garth to come toward him so that he could grab the bag and tie up Garth as well. He tied up their feet so they couldn't run off, then he grabbed the bag and inhaled the contents, drinking the Fuze first and then eating the food as fast as he could, almost making himself sick. Garth and Deej watched in horror. How long had he been without food?

Garth came to his senses after a few minutes. He started struggling against the soft branches, but they were too green to break, especially how they were tied up with them. Anger threatened to gain control. He pushed it down and made the calm come back to his head. Garth used his senses to find out what was going on. The man was still eating their food and Deej was struggling in her binds. Anger welled up again. That man couldn't treat his friends or him like this! He tried pushing the anger back again, but this time it didn't work. Fury raged inside his chest, grew into something that moved inside him. He couldn't control it any longer. The rage grew and shaped itself. Then the pain started. It started at the center of the rage and grew with the rage until it filled his body. Garth screamed, and tore at his bonds, which tore like tissue paper. He stood, only to be brought down by the blinding agony. His fingers exploded into claws, his feet grew longer like animal's legs complete with claws, bat-like Wings tore through his back and spread toward the sky, a tail grew and stretched in the pain, his ears lengthened and the bottoms grew into jagged edges and they curled around his head, horns erupted from the base of his skull, growing down his neck and ending in spiky points. His screams turned to roars The torture abated, leaving Garth panting in relief and little dancing points of light in his eyes. Garth looked toward the man who was eating their food. His jaw was dropped. The bag fell from nerveless fingers.

And he started running. He ran as fast as he could, his strength starting to come back. Garth bellowed a deep, gravely laugh and took to the chase. His speed was aided by his new feet, and his wings pushing on the air to propel him forward. Brent didn't have a chance to get away. Garth caught him by the shoulders, his claws digging into Brent's deltoids. Brent screamed from fear and pain, finally coming out of shock. Brent grabbed a thick tree branch and swung it at Garth's face when Garth turned him around to face him to fight. The stick broke across Garth's mouth. Garth wiped a few splinters off of his cheek and grinned, showing white sparkling fangs that were sharp enough to bite straight through bone. Brent quailed for a second, then swung a fist at Garth's stomach, and yelled and brought his fist back to his body, clutching it delicately. It had been a solid hit, to what felt like stone. Garth through him against a tree, satisfied with the thud when Brent hit the tree and slid to the forest floor.

Garth walked over to Deej, who was staring at him wide-eyed. She shrunk away from him, not sure if he could control himself. Garth reached toward her, and she tried to take his hand that he was offering, but was restrained. Garth stared and started reaching for her bonds. He accidentally scraped by her arm, and she yelled out and pulled away and look at her arm, which had a shallow slice in it, and blood started welling up and running down.

"No good. Do you have fire?" She asked, thinking he could just burn off the branches with a small enough beam of fire. Garth blew out, but nothing happened. He willed harder, and tried again. A small puff of smoke and a wisp of flame flew out of his mouth. He grinned at her and moved around to the back of her. He willed the fire out of him, and started blowing. Deej's hands twitched. The fire was super-hot. "Be careful, ok?" She asked. It got a tad hotter, then the heat gave way to a strange contentment that made her want more. Surprisingly, it was granted.

"Garth? What's going on back there?" She asked as the heat and almost-pleasure spread from her hands to her arms, then her back. "Garth?!" The sensation grew more and spread over her.

Garth, behind her, was losing control of the fire. It spewed out of his throat, and he could not stop it, however he tried. Soon, he started trying to move away from Deej, but the fire seemed to be attracted to her. She screamed, then was consumed in the flames. As soon as her body was buried in the blaze, Garth gained control and stopped the fire. He watched in horror as The flames seared her, then the fire blocked his vision so that he couldn't see her. He couldn't tell what it was. She screamed as she burned, the pain mixing with the almost-pleasure. Garth turned away, but could not make himself leave, as if he had to torture himself with her pain to compensate for her death. He lowered his head as the screaming stopped. His heart was breaking.

Brent regained consciousness. The first thing he did was glare at Garth, who was turned from him and his burning friend. Brent picked up a sharp rock that laid by his hand, then sneaked up to Garth, being as silent as possible. At the last minute, just when he thought it was safe to attack, A twig snapped under his weight. Garth twirled around, snarling, but was too late. Brent bashed him in the head with the rock. Garth fell to the ground, his enhanced height crashing him into the hard dirt, face-first. Brent kneeled down and started pounding him over and over with the rock, until the tip of the rock was dripping red and the trees were well watered with blood. The dragon's fire was almost out. Brent started running before he was found because of the smoke. He ran fast and hard, thankful that he had regained some energy from the food.


	4. Chapter 4

Deej breathed in. No pain. Breathed out. Still no pain. She opened her eyes. She felt… Different. More vulnerable, somehow. She looked at her hands and gaped. She could see right through them! She knocked on some wood. Her hands were glass! And there was a pulse running through them… She looked closer. It was light! Like a stream of lightning had replaced her blood. She looked at the rest of her body. Her clothes had burned off, but her body was perfectly clear with light thrumming through it, lighting up some of the shadows on the… _Red_ forest floor? She turned to follow the red and traced it to Garth. She gasped and put her hands over her mouth, trying not to cry. As the tears fell onto Garth, a little piece of him came back every time the light touched him. Deej swallowed and let another one fall. Still more of him came back, but he was still losing blood from the still-open wounds. Which was good in the way that she could tell that he was still alive. Deej tried touching him. Nothing happened. She touched a glass hand to her cheek and picked up some of the liquid light and brought it down to a wound. It grew back ever-so-slightly. How could she heal him like that? Surely she couldn't cry that much. It would take too long, as well… She picked up Garth's head and held it in her lap, petting his hair while trying to think of a way. She needed to heal him. She needed him. She couldn't imagine the world without him. She cradled his head in her arms and curled her new body around his head, her hair tinkling and she whispered nothing in particular to him, willing him to live, to survive, to heal faster.

Deej started to feel surreal. Like she could float away and never come back. But she had to come back. Garth needed her right now. Her chest ached, centered on her heart. She regained sight, but she hadn't opened her eyes. She looked at her hands again. They were pure light now. She looked around. She was puny! She hopped onto Garth's hand, feeling wonderfully light as if gravity had no more effect on her. She was small enough to curl up in his palm. She tried touching his face. Her hands melted into his skin. The little lacerations on his cheek melted away where she had touched him. She turned and saw her glass body still curled around Garth's head. She touched her leg, and her hand started to be sucked back in. She pulled her hand back. She needed to heal Garth. She sprinted to his shoulder and jumped up and sank into his ravaged flesh. She swam through his wronged tissue, healing as she went along. She felt him stirring. He was waking up! And she wasn't done! She hurried to his hand and floated out of his palm.

Garth got up and caught something that had been resting on him. It was a glass girl that could move as smoothly as skin and joints. He looked around. Was this what had happened to Deej? One of his hands felt like a feather was brushing on it. He looked down and saw a being made of light. It was constantly flickering and changing so he couldn't make out facial features or anything on it. It was small, fitting perfectly into his hand.

"Deej?" He asked. The being grabbed its neck, the limbs melting into each other. It wasn't able to speak. It nodded its head. Or rather, she nodded her head. "What-How?" He tried to question her. She shrugged. "You're ok?" He asked. She nodded, then pointed. He looked. There were still wound on him. His heart melted. She was changed, maybe forever and she was still more concerned about him. "I'm okay," He said to her. She shook her head and ran up his shoulder and touched a gash. It closed as she ran her hands over and through it. It left a tingling feeling behind. She had been healing him. His heart melted again. His body returned to normal slowly as he watched the mini-Deej run around, over and through him.

Deej had finished soon enough and returned to his palm, and sat in the center. He held her up to his face. She was flickering a little.

"Tired?" He asked. She nodded and did an imitation of a yawn. He looked himself over and did a scan of his body. Everything felt great. "Thanks, Deej." He said to her. She nodded and hugged his thumb. He smiled. At least she acted the same. She held a pointer up to him, telling him to wait a second. She hopped off of his hand and touched her glass body. She was sucked in, and the light grew and started acting like a heartbeat. The light spread and filled in the delicate, hollow body. She turned her face toward him. At first, it was just the glass that looked like her face, but the light flickered again and he could see her face in the light as well as the glass.

"Hey," She said softly, greeting him and looking down. More light brightened her face, and she covered herself self-consciously. He pulled her arms away from her body gently. Her head tilted questioningly.

"You're just glass," He said. Her crystalline lips curved into a soft smile. For some reason, he liked it when she smiled. He guessed it was because he like her happy. Because he liked people to be happy…

"Are you ok?" She asked, her voice echoing slightly. Garth nodded. He owed her for this. He would have to repay her back later, after he had gotten revenge for what that guy had done to them.

"Thanks to you, yes. Did you see where that jerk went?" Garth asked. Deej shook her head. Even if she had known, she didn't know if she would have told him. She didn't want him to go chasing the robber, if not worse, and be in danger all over again. As he looked her over again, his rage reformed itself again slightly. He thought of things that had enraged him in the past, and felt his anger grow and change and fill him until he couldn't stop it any more, and it changed his body back to the form with which he had changed Deej, except with absolutely no pain this time, which relieved him greatly.

The rage became a living beast inside of him, and thrived on the heat of the sun and the warmth that Deej was emitting. The beast seemed to be soaking up all the heat that it could get to, and it grew and changed again. His skin thickened, toughened, getting itself ready for battle and changed to a reddish color. He grew until he was at least the height of an average man and a half, making his clothes rip. His shirt was ruined and fell off his torso, his pants stretched until they ripped, all but the top half. His wings enlarged themselves to counteract his size so that he could still fly. His nose and mouth jutted out into a snout and the rest of his face changed until he looked more dragon than human. His fangs enlarged themselves. His legs shifted shape and settled into a cat-like shape, except for the feet, which were lizard-like. He leaned forward a little to keep his balance on his new feet. His hands took a more lizard-like shape. His tail extended and whipped around, taking down a tree. Spikes jutted out from his spine. His eyes were still a blue, but the dragon's rage glazed them over in red, making them look purple. As it ended, Garth leaned back and blew a jet of fire into the sky, keeping his balance with his wings.

Deej peeked out from behind the tree she was hiding behind. She hadn't wanted her body to shatter. She didn't know what would happen. The dragon in front of her roared and took off into the air, the rage heightened along with his senses, which were picking up the scent of his blood. The criminal was covered in it, and Garth could follow the scent. He took off, soaring into the cool mountainous air, above the treetops, still following the scent. The human side of Garth inside had never thought about flying, but now that he was up in the air, he was kind of enjoying it, despite losing control of his body to a frenzied beast. He tried to fight for control, but the dragon, as long as it was in a rage, would keep control of it's, and his, body.

The dragon looked a little ahead, into the trees, and then rocketed forward. It had seen its tormentor and wanted revenge. It plummeted into the tall firs and pines, breaking branches carelessly, determined not to lose the scent. It came to a river, at which it paused. The immediate trail was gone. The dragon sniffed around the bank. Scents bombarded the dragon's muzzle, confusing it. It tried to find the right scent again. And again. It hopped over to the other side of the river, and found the scent in a little droplet of blood. It took off, pushing aside trees as it thrust forward, its cat-like legs and wings assisting in speed. The dragon ran on until the path curved toward the right, leading the dragon to a small cave, a small enough cave which would not let the bulk of the dragon's body through its mouth. The dragon could scent Garth's blood and Brent. Frustrated, it roared and blew fire into the cave.

Brent, near the back of the cave, saw the light coming and panicked. He dived behind a large stalagmite. The fire filled the caved, evaporating the little pool of water and the drips from the apex and almost melted the rock. Brent, practically hyperventilating, peered around the corner of the stalagmite when the roar of the fire had stopped. He gulped. It wasn't the mixture of man and dragon like before. It was full-blown, fire-breathing dragon like out of stories and legends. He couldn't believe he was staring into the face of one. There was no possible way he could fight such a monster.

Deej watched the dragon soar off into the sky. There hadn't seemed to be much of Garth's soul left inside of it, but she somehow knew that he was in the dragon. She ran in the direction she had seen it follow. She was careful not to break her new body, but it aided her in speed because of its hollow attribute. She came to the river and stopped. She could see the path the dragon had taken from here, but how was she supposed to get across the river? Maybe she could jump it, being relatively light. She leaped from the edge of the bank, and soared into the sky. She had misjudged and jumped too high. She curled her body into a ball, waiting to hurtle into the rapids. She hovered up and down slightly. She opened her eyes and lowered her limbs slowly. She looked herself over to make sure there was no damage. She looked behind her, and saw two large wings above two smaller wings, like a fairy's, attached to her shoulder blades and fluttering like a hummingbird's. She smiled and flew over the dragon's path, trying not to crash into broken branches or ripped up roots.

She came to the dragon and saw it pacing outside of a rocky cavern, with an opening just big enough for a full-grown man to fit into. The dragon grew aggravated with the mouth, and simply tore it open and dove inside. Deej could barely see the man who had attacked him inside and freaking out, backing against the back of the cave. The dragon intended to kill him. She knew that Garth would not want this. He hadn't killed anybody. He had come close, she noted grimly. But he would pay for it, later, in jail. She rushed forward and ran inside, with no plan. She tried to think of a way to stand up against the dragon with her brittle body as she ran. Then thoughts abandoned her as she ran past the giant creature's side. She came up to the head, frantically trying to come up with something that could stop it.

"Stop!" She yelled at it, not even hoping that it could work. It paused and looked at her, then swung a giant hand at her. She tried to dodge, but the dragon's swipe was too long, and it hit her, cracking her side and shattering her against the wall. The pieces of glass reflected light as they fell almost in slow motion.

Brent backed farther against the wall. If the dragon would kill it's.. Master's? Companion, it would surely kill him. It wasn't happening, it wasn't happening…

Garth, inside the dragon still, stared in horror at the sharp pieces of glass that were falling onto the cave floor, pieces being lost in the dirt. There was no way to tell anymore what it had been. He clawed at the dragon's conscious, needing control again. The dragon, shocked at Garth's reaction, withdrew its power and let him take over. His body shifted and shrunk into Garth's human figure. Garth ran to the pile of busted glass and picked up a few of the pieces and berated the dragon inside of him fiercely. The dragon was cowering in a corner of his mind, feeling remorseful. But it didn't help. Garth gripped the pieces of glass in his hands helplessly, drawing blood from the tightness of his grip and the razor-sharpness of the bits.

Then, Garth didn't know how, didn't really care how, the glass liquefied and ran out of his hands. He watched its progress across the dirt, not mixing with the dirt into mud. The rest of the glass had turned to the same liquid and was molding itself into the shape of a woman; of Deej. The glass body sat against the wall. Light flickered in the upper middle of her torso, then went out for a second or two. Garth's own heart skipped a beat. The light came back and filled in the crystalline outline. A breath filled Deej's body and she exhaled, then raised her head. Garth let out the breath he hadn't known that he had been holding.

"Garth?" She asked, then her face lit up more of the grotto. She was blushing. Garth looked down, and remembered that his transformation had ripped up his clothes. "Are you okay?" She asked, fearing that he wasn't. Garth nodded, even more relieved.

"What about you?" He asked. Had she died and come back to life? Or had she been alive while she had regenerated? She nodded back at him and did an overlook of her body, then stood up and turned around, to prove to him that she was. Then they both looked over at the man, who was shaking in the corner like a leaf, his face was pale. "Do you think he's okay?" He asked Deej, who shrugged.

"Looks like it," She said, just before he finally fainted. "Oh fine, prove me wrong," She joked, then went over to him and found his pulse. "He's fine; just scared. I don't blame him," She said, turning back to Garth. "What was that?" She asked, already knowing the answer. Garth shrugged. He didn't know. Deej laughed and Garth looked at her curiously. "I guess your 'Canadian rage' has a form," She said. "I'm going to call him Targh," She continued and made a funny face.

"So what are we going to do about him?" Garth asked, and pointed to the collapsed man. Deej shrugged.

"Carry him back to camp, I suppose," She said, and grabbed an arm to try dragging him. Garth pushed her aside gently, then picked up the man and put him over his shoulder and walked out of the cave and stopped.

"Do you know where we are?" Garth asked her. He hadn't been paying attention to where the dragon had been going. Deej looked around a little and pointed at the dragon's path. "Wow. The dragon did that?" He asked. Deej nodded and started walking toward the path, of which Garth followed. They had to sidetrack a little because some of the trees had fallen right on the pathway, so the going was a little slow.

When they got to the river, the sun was starting to lower itself into the horizon. Garth stopped. There were no make-shift bridges; trees that had fallen over the river or anything that he could cross over it with, and they were pressed for time. They had to get back to camp before it got dark; not because of wild animals, those Targh could handle. It was Garth's family being worried about them that they were worried about. Garth looked from one side of the bank to the other. Nothing as far as the eye could see. He looked over at Deej's back, while she stared at the water. Her back shimmered, then four wings melted out of her back and fluttered. Garth's eyes widened.

"You have wings?" He asked her. She turned around and nodded. As she turned, her hair clinked and as she brushed her arms against her body, it made a sliding sound, and tiny sparks danced toward each other inside the glass.

"Yeah. You do too," She said, defending herself and reminding him. He looked at the man and remembered what he had done to them, and starting getting mad again. Horns, claws, fangs, and different ears and legs sprouted, along with the wings. Garth shifted the man into his arms with little effort, and grudgingly he flew him across the streaming water, with Deej close behind.

After they landed on the opposite bank, Garth turned human again, finding it in his heart to forgive the man; and Deej let her wings fall into her back, them melting in like they had when they emerged. They kept walking, this time relying more on Deej's memory since Targh had been flying at this point. They walked quickly, due to the time slipping away along with the light. Garth though he might have been imagining things, but Deej's light was fading with the suns. It wasn't until she was starting to slow her pace and wobble on her feet until Garth started to really suspect that she was losing her energy. The light on the horizon was purple and Deej's light was growing dimmer for a second, then brighter, then dimmer again. This was when she had begun to stop trying.


	5. Chapter 5

"I can't go any farther Garth, just a little rest," Deej begged. She sat down, almost lost her balance, even sitting, then laid down on the ground. The grass felt soft, despite the little roots and pebbles. It felt so good to rest…

"Deej, don't stop now. I think we're close. I'm starting to recognize the layout of the trees and rocks," Garth told her, trying to urge her on. He was tired himself, carrying the man. He didn't think he could carry two people, despite her being lighter. And he didn't want to gain power from Targh, he really disliked being angry for that whole time. Deej just groaned and curled up on her side, getting ready to sleep. Garth shook his head, his hair waving to and fro. She was starting to frustrate him. He sighed. He had no other choice. He shifted the man on his shoulder, who whimpered. He had been conscious for a while, but was scared stiff. He focused on his frustration and felt himself change. It was a strange sensation, almost tingling and heat rushed over and through his body at the same time. When he felt the charge of power, he sighed and inwardly thanked Targh, who grumbled in his little corner of Garth's mind. He took a couple of steps forward, and picked Deej up carefully, so as not to break or scratch her, and put her over his arm. She seemed so small and helpless, lying like that over his arm; he felt like he needed to protect her. He tried not to think of what might happen to her when darkness fully fell over the sky. He started running, then sprinting as the sky darkened even more.

By the time Garth got back to camp, he had been forced to use the night vision that Targh had let him borrow and the campfire had been lit for a while. Everybody stood up when he arrived, recognizing him, then recoiling in shock at what he had become. He didn't care right now. He put down the guy first and told him to stay. The man nodded like it would be the end of the world if he didn't obey, then Garth took Deej close to the fire, hoping the light would regenerate the light in her chest. Nothing happened. Garth fell backward, landing in a sitting position, being careful to catch Deej. He was sure that the light would have brought her back. Maybe it was only sunlight that did it. His family gathered around him as Targh's components dissolved into thin air. He stared around at them, pleading for help wordlessly. He needed Deej back. And he knew why now. He couldn't live without her. He needed her. He loved her. It had snuck up on him, and he had refused to admit it, even to himself; until now.

Still in shock, Garth gathered Deej in his arms and took her inside the tent and dressed her, wishing that it might help. She lay as still as the night. He bent himself over her, cursing himself for not being faster, not having been strong enough by himself. She had come back before, why not now? He was choking back tears. Even if he couldn't have saved her, maybe he could satisfy her need for him in death. He brought his head in front of hers, smoothing a glass thread of hair away from her face; then brought his lips to her crystalline ones, softly, shyly. Her lips were as cold as the grave, but smooth and perfect. He cupped her head in his hands, and let the tears flow hot and freely as he could free his emotions, pouring them into her. Worry, grief, loss, emptiness, love. Her lips grew softer, soft enough to give under his firmer ones. They grew warm as he continued kissing her. Urged on by the changes that might mean life, he moved his lips against hers, his heartbeat quickening with hope.

Bekah woke up to something big over her, and something firm, but yet still soft, against her lips. Her cheeks were wet. She opened her eyes and saw Garth's face, so close to hers that they were touching. She froze. What had happened while she had been sleeping? She didn't care. She wrapped her arms around his wide shoulders and returned the kiss with vigor and life. She started losing herself in the passion, when Garth pulled away. Instantly bereft, she questioned him with a facial expression.

"Don't you ever do that to me again," Garth told her, then gathered her in his arms and pulled her up to his chest and sat them both up in a bear-hug. Deej hugged him back, being careful not to crush the air out of him, though she even doubted she could. She decided not to question what she had done, and just accept it all.

"I'm sorry," She whispered to him. He murmured his forgiveness. Deej pushed herself a little bit away, but stayed in his arms. She wiped a tear away. Then screwed up her face and started rubbing at all of the tears that had fallen. Garth laughed and grabbed one of her hands to stop her. She pouted, but stopped and fell against him in another hug. Garth cheerfully hugged her back, holding her close to his heart.

Outside, the family questioned the man about what he was doing there, until one of Garth's family recognized him.

"Hey! I heard about him on the radio! He's a wanted criminal!" The sibling said. The man was too scared to even hear what they were saying. He was thinking that they might all be dragons. Maybe all Canadians were dragons! And all the Canadian women were just like the other girl! His heart was beating too fast, and his breathing had quickened too much as well, and he fainted. Garth's family tied him to a tree just to be safe, then went inside the tent to see that Garth and Deej had fallen asleep in each other's arms. His family smiled and got ready for bed, getting ready to tease him about it the next day, and when they had enough comedic material, went to sleep.

In the morning, The Squair family woke up and left the two alone; of whom were Garth and Deej, who had woken up in the night cold, despite the other's body heat and had crawled into Garth's sleeping bag. Mr. Squair had decided to call the Mounties, who promptly came and arrested the babbling Brent and took him out of their hands. While they waited for their artist and his… "Friend" to wake up, they started a fire and breakfast and started on fresh ideas to tease him with.

In the tent, Garth awoke from a dream that had him smiling as he gained consciousness. He slowly opened his eyes and started with a jerk, and relaxed. He still wasn't used to somebody being so close to him, in heart and in physical standards. Deej twitched her nose and continued her dream in bliss. Garth smiled and brushed a strand of waves away from her left eye. The light sweep woke Deej up and she smiled and stretched and buried herself deeper in the confines of the sleeping bag, which also put her closer to Garth so that she was right up against his chest, listening to his heartbeat, with her head just under his chin. She blinked slowly. She was in the stage of waking up where she was still drowsy, but as happy as could be, surrounded in warmth and comfort. She couldn't say why, but she had the feeling that she always would be immersed in such delights…


End file.
